Why Alpha Dad? Read more below The Alpha Dad website is essentially a magazine in online format.  It is designed for the interest of the 'Alpha' man.  This term is used gently, as it has strong connotations for some people.  This Alpha Guy has grown up, probably has kids that he loves dearly, still works hard, and does the very best he can in everything he does in his life.  Thus, we have come to be- Alpha Dads. We would like readers with integrity, varied interests, strong ethics, and who are resolute about doing good works in his life.   Our reader likely considers himself an Alpha Male, who is a good man living in a difficult world.  The Alpha Dad (and his perhaps younger, unmarried counterpart- the Alpha Guy) is a man doing his best to be a good person, a great dad, a good husband (or ex-husband), and a good citizen.  A friend of mine (JWC) put it this way- we're not 70-percenters.  We want to do it right the first time.  With integrity and dignity, every time.  In everything.  We cannot be perfect, but we set the bar high, every time, and do our best to get there or exceed it.   There are no exclusions here; we hope you find the content to your liking and interest, and that you return often.   If you consider yourself an Alpha Guy, even if you're not a Dad yet, or even married, you may be someday; we hope you  like the material here.  We also suggest this site for the woman in the life of the Alpha Dad (be it a wife, girlfriend, friend who is a girl, etc).  We hope this helps explain his 'way of being' a bit better for you, maybe give you some gift ideas, or items of mutual interest and sharing. We will have new content every few days, or even every day.  Unlike a conventional magazine, or even a web-mag, there will be dynamic content on Alpha Dad, with updates, new reviews, new commentary and material all the time.  Sometimes we'll leave a feature piece on the top for a while, so be sure to read down the page a bit to check for new articles or reviews.  In short order we'll change the front page here significantly, to have only content and tag lines to new content (so you don't have to sift through everything you've read already; however, if you want to read it a few more times, by all means do).  We'll do our best to keep it interesting, and a site you can check every couple of days for new items, if not every day. We don't have a big marketing budget (yet!), so we don't have a high-tech website, lots of slick graphics, any big-name interviews (again- yet), or some of the stuff that comes with other magazines or websites.  Actually, we'll probably keep it a lot like it is, regardless how big or successful we get.  But we want your input, to make it be appealing for how you like things.  We think you'll like our content, and that should be what brings you back. Our content is not politically oriented, doesn't carry a religious message or overtone, and is not overly technical or lofty.  We believe this appeals to the Alpha Dad- his beliefs, ethics, and interests. There will be no nudity or overly adult content, pictures, or language.  The original articles, reviews, suggestions, and information will be written by Alpha Dads. We welcome feedback, commentary, personal reviews,  and original submissions (in any of the categories we carry; or we are open to adding content/categories to the interest of our readership).    Your support of this site is necessary to keep it viable.  Please use the sponsors/web ads as often as possible as they apply to your interests.  If you like the content, and wish to come back often to read new, dynamic content, please support us through the means mentioned.  Your readership is greatly appreciated, and the greater your support, the more content and updated material we can add. A more expanded discussion of our advertising: Content and Features This site was designed for the interest and entertainment of the Alpha Dad.  Most websites are tedious and inappropriate to our interests.  Too many magazines and periodicals are either too specific, or don't contain enough interesting items for us.  Some are too far left, some too far right; some detail events or people that we're not interested in.  Many are just one long advertisement, with a few articles thrown in.  Overall, too many are just not for our age group or life objectives any more.  Of note is also that many magazines and websites list and review supposed 'must have' items that frankly aren't of interest to us as a matter of subject, or aren't of interest to us as a matter of cost.  This includes clothes, vacations, trips, gear; you name it.  We're regular guys here on the staff at Alpha Dad, so we're trying to present stuff that appeals to us, and think that it'll appeal to you. -AP Editor   Why Alpha Dad? Just so you know, I drive a Pathfinder, not an X-5 or LX07.  I've always wanted a Rolex, but even when I could finally afford one, I would think hard on buying it, and then would end up doing the calculation- $2,500 sitting on my wrist looking cool, or $2,500 x 12 years at 12% for my sons' college fund.  Easy choice.  I have a 50-inch HD television, but I still buy my underwear at Wal-Mart.  I get to take a trip to go train every once in a while, but for the most part a great time to me is watching my kids play ball, or catching a good movie with my sons.    I was a tradesman for a good while, did about 10 years in the military, then made some decent money as a security contractor and now as a consultant.  It's really good sometimes, and then it's really stressful sometimes, making a plan- and meeting it- to be good to my kids, manage career/finances, and still have something in there for 'me.'  If I really make it big, maybe some day I'll have enough money to get that Rolex and put my kids in college. I give you those terribly fascinating personal notes, because if you're reading this now, you're probably in the same demographic as I am.  And the audience we're looking for.  I hope what I say from here on down, and is contained Alpha Dad, is of interest to you. _____ I had to follow the news intensely for years, as a requirement of my job.  Intelligence trends, security issues, regional conflict issues, foreign politics and cultural issues; all part of my job. I could have given a dissertation on the history of Middle Eastern politics.  But when I left that work, for good- for the sake of my sons (and myself)- I pretty much stopped watching the news.  I had found it was just stressing me out, and I had no effect on process whatsoever.  I quit reading magazines because I couldn't find anything that interested me any more.  Far too specific, too far left, too far right; not enough info, too much info; feature articles about people and figures I could care less about; full-on marketing of products and big-ticket items I can't afford or don't have any use for. You know what?- I do like magazines.  I love having a couple good pieces of article-oriented material when I'm on a long flight, or in the library (um... where the seat is made of porcelain).  Problem is, I just can't find any that I can see spending

_____

The other day, I went to Barnes & Noble, to try to find a magazine or two that I could take a look at to help improve this site in its content, look, and overall format.  I stood in front of the rack, looking at the different titles and covers for a while, and was hard-put to find anything that I thought I would enjoy as I was doing my research.  Nothing jumped out at me.  Most were too young, too impertinent to my tastes, had yet another 'Six-Pack Abs! Results in 24 Hours! Here's How' on the cover, or were just too... not for me.  I finally settled on Details magazine.  No, not for the cover splash of 'Brad Pitt- The Most Famous Dad on the Planet in an Exclusive 19-page Portfolio.' It was the feature article 'The Army's Big Gay Secret.' That, and maybe the 'Are You Satisfying Your Wife?' tag line.  I'm not married any more, but I figured maybe I could learn something.  As a former soldier, I wanted to see what an ostensibly 'guy's magazine' had as a scoop on the Army.

After 101 pages of full-page ads, full of homo-erotic young dudes, promo'ing clothes, products, and accessories that I would never wear, buy or use, I got to the article on gays and the military on page 122.  Yes- 101 of 122 pages; the number is right.  I know, I counted.  Twice.  In those 122 pages, there was only one ad that was remotely appealing to me- the latest advertisement for a new cologne line by Tom Ford (I didn't know who that was).  Why was it appealing? It has a full-page photo of a slickly-shaven woman's body, from her navel to the tops of her thighs, with a bottle of the new cologne just barely covering her most intimate parts.  I remembered seeing it somewhere on the net as a blurb, as it had created some level of controversy and buzz in its graphic depiction.  The other item of note- the only ad with a guy over 40 in it was an American Express advert featuring Larry David, the writer and lead actor of Curb Your Enthusiasm (AD Review).  I know that magazines, and even most websites, are driven by ad revenue, that's what we hope Alpha Dad will be able to do with your support and readership.  But 101 pages of marketing until I get to my article?  Give me a break.

On that piece that made the choice of magazine for me, and I won't go into it long here: The splash pic for the article?- A Purple Heart (as in the formal medal) hanging from a 'rainbow ribbon.'  The same medal and ribbon two pages later, stuck on the top pocket of BDU's, with the US Army strip over top.  The main color character for the article?- A Naval Petty Officer that had been discharged (in 2005) under the military 'Don't Ask; Don't Tell' policy, and then was reactivated (in 2006) by Navy Personnel Command.  The article had some interesting facts and figures, and was pretty even-handed (if openly sympathetic) in its presentation of the issue.  However, the mag states on the cover- 'The Army's Big Gay Secret,' but then the title of the article inside is- The Military's New Gay Games.'  Strange bait-and-switch.  Why?- Apart from the statistical data and commentary, the article features one Naval service member, one Air National Guardsman, one Marine, and one Army Reservist.  I hope maybe you get it, because I didn't.

Personally, I could care less about someone's sexual orientation.  Really. Our audience is probably going to be heterosexual guys, married or divorced, probably with kids, between the ages of 30 and 50.  But I hope we also have a good slice of female readers, interested to see what we are presenting.  We mean it on the front page of this web-mag: no exclusions here.  I just hope our target market-  all grown, decent and honest guys, Alpha Males (Dads), guys like me and the other contributors to this mag-  find stuff here they like.  That's it.  Movie reviews written by guys who like guy movies, but also have kids and a gal, so they better be a team player when they go to Blockbuster.  Gear reviews, of good stuff you and I can actually afford, that work well.  Interesting stuff- collectibles or equipment you can fit in your budget, stuff to do with your kids, or teach them something cool and useful.  Game reviews, for the guy who likes to play games in his spare time. Or the dad that has children to think of, and has to halfway know what all the games are about so their kids don't end up playing some S where the whole object of the game is to run around being an asshole, steal cars, and slap the hookers.  Opinions and commentary on interesting things, not the latest political rant.  In short- stuff I like, and the guys who write and contribute here like. We hope- that you like.

It may take us a bit for us to get our own style, format, or rhythm here. I hope you bear with us, give us your feedback, your input, content requests.  And your reviews of stuff you use and like, or break, or that wasn't worth the money.  Countering opinions to reviews or commentary are welcome, and may be posted (with editorial discretion to length and content- Ed).  With your help, we hope we meet your interests.

Who knows- if we do it right, with your input and support of ad content, we may just end up as a paper edition, stuck in your carry-on for that long flight.  Or in the 'library.'

Thanks for your time and interest.  Keep on coming back.

-AP

Editor

Addendum-

The other Alpha Dad editors and I find ourselves, thinking and discussing sometimes, issues that we want to comment on and post here in our magazine.  It's usually political stuff, or contemporary issues that pretty much 'spin us up.'  It's been an effort sometimes to keep our thoughts or reviews off these pages.  But I think it's best that way.  No matter what issue we put out there- the war, the coming election, the latest scandal surrounding a politician from any party, even positions on constitutional issues, or personal stuff like (gad!) marriage and divorce- it would just turn into a rant of some sort. Any feedback we got from readers would be extremely polar.  And nothing we could present, regardless how logical, would make any real difference in how the Alpha Dad thinks or change his position on issues.  At our age, we're... let's just say we're pretty set in our views.  Politics in particular.  Our thinking, jeez- everyone's thinking- is pretty immutable on things like that.  And there are scads of other magazines, websites, TV and radio shows, that cover issues like that as their complete reason for existence.  So let's keep it off the table.  I don't want anything we put in here, or that you get to consider by reading, to spin away into something that is uninteresting, extremely polarizing, or just incites a good vs. bad kind of position-taking.  We'll do our best to keep it fresh and interesting without falling down into a hole where we don't want to be (and you would just hear strident voices griping about the same old thing coming out of the hole).  Help us keep the pertinent and interesting stuff coming, and we'll do our best to put that out there.

- Ed.

 Search Alpha Dad Content

© 2007 Alpha Dad Web-Magazine.  All rights reserved.